


Since The Beginning

by sleepydanceur



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-11
Updated: 2015-02-11
Packaged: 2018-03-11 21:32:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3333629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepydanceur/pseuds/sleepydanceur
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'He hadn’t even realized it was gone.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Since The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> The deluge of feelings I got because of these butts and [their couple rings](https://31.media.tumblr.com/11c0b9de12abda08051262a68a952e3a/tumblr_n7cn23LO3K1tvtl95o1_1280.jpg). (I'm a terrible sap, as always).

He hadn’t even realized it was gone. 

It’s late in the afternoon when Kyungsoo unlocks the door to step into his apartment. It’s a rare occasion that he’s home early, having wrapped up with his vocal class students quicker than usual. He heads straight for the kitchen after toeing off his shoes by the door, downing a glass of water to soothe his worn out throat before pulling out the ingredients from the fridge and cupboards to make a quick meal for two. Chanyeol gets home later than Kyungsoo does, always the last one to leave the recording studio, wanting to tweak and play around with the harmonies and beats until they’re perfect. 

When the food is done, he covers it up to reheat later on and rolls up his sleeves to clean up and wash everything he’d used. That’s when he notices, there beneath the soap suds coating his fingers, the absence of the shine on the smooth surface of the silver band that’s usually around his finger. His couple ring is gone. 

Kyungsoo drops the soapy plate he’s holding in shock, staring at his bare finger with a mixture of disbelief and horror. Panicking, he abandons the rest of the dishes, splashing droplets of water and soap all over the floor as he dashes out of the kitchen before he realizes that he has no idea where to start looking. He’s so used to always having it around his finger that he can’t even remember if he’d had it on when he left for work in the morning or not. Kyungsoo stills for a painstaking moment, blood pounding in his head as he looks around the house before deciding to start with his bedroom.

He tears the entire place down, ripping open the drawers and shoving all the clothes and underwear aside, crawling on the floor frantically searching under the bed and all the pieces of furniture, desperately hoping to see the familiar glint of silver somewhere. 

He’s had that ring for years, ever since Chanyeol had given it to him back in college. He had come up to Kyungsoo one morning before class with the biggest smile on his face and stars in his eyes as he opened his palm to show him a pair of matching rings tied together with a short string. Then he had asked Kyungsoo if he would ‘honour their best-friendshipness’ and even through his bright smile, Kyungsoo could just see the apprehensive traces of doubt in his eyes, the faintest hint of fear in the arch of his eyebrows in anticipation of Kyungsoo’s answer. Like he would say no; _as if he possibly could_ , Kyungsoo had thought at the time.

Chanyeol was the kind of guy who’d fret deep down over the things he treasured the most. The distressed curve of his brows vanished though, the moment Kyungsoo took one of the rings and slid it onto his finger with a pleased grin and the delight that lit up Chanyeol’s face was blinding as he slung an arm over Kyungsoo’s shoulder and steered him towards class. 

So Kyungsoo keeps tearing the place apart because he’d taken that ring with a silent promise to always take care of it, like it’s a part of Chanyeol. And after they moved on from friendship to something more, that ring became a part of Chanyeol’s heart in Kyungsoo’s hands. And now he’s lost it. 

It means everything to him, even if he doesn’t say it out loud to Chanyeol or doesn’t say it enough, it means everything because it’s the ring that a broke college student worked himself to death over, having taken extra shifts at work for two months to scrape up enough money to afford it. It’s the ring that still makes Chanyeol go all soft and quiet sometimes when he catches sight of it on Kyungsoo's slender finger, always glancing down at his own matching ring and then back at Kyungsoo's with this terribly fond look in his eyes; it's everything.

He needs to find it before Chanyeol gets home; Kyungsoo doesn’t think he’d be able to handle the devastated look on Chanyeol’s face when he finds out. 

He ransacks the entirety of the apartment, desperate tears starting to well up in his eyes with every minute that passes without finding the ring. He hears the sudden sound of jingling keys and the clicking of the front door unlocking and Kyungsoo nearly whimpers, hands shaking as he pushes himself off the floor miserably, shoulders slumped. He scrubs at his eyes quickly but they only burn more.

"I'm home!" Chanyeol's deep voice fills the apartment but silence greets him back. Chanyeol blinks in surprise, kicking off his shoes carelessly in favour of scanning the apartment. Stepping further inside, his eyes immediately find Kyungsoo and zeroes in on his evident distress, immediately dropping his bag as he rushes to his side. 

"Soo? Kyungsoo, what's wrong?" he wraps a hand around Kyungsoo's elbow where his arm is hanging limply by his side.

Kyungsoo looks up at him, swallowing the lump caught painfully in his throat and croaks out frankly, "I lost my ring."

Chanyeol blinks. 

"But it has to be here somewhere, I’m sure of it," Kyungsoo adds quickly, desperately. _It has to be_. He opens his mouth to say something else when he catches sight of Chanyeol’s hand on his arm and the air leaves his lungs with dizzying suddenness. Chanyeol's ring is gone. 

He can feel the corners of his eyes burning again as he looks back up at Chanyeol's face. He doesn’t even look shocked or surprised; or upset even. His expression tightens, eyebrows furrowing and it feels like an icy fist to Kyungsoo’s chest. 

He wills his voice not to crack; "Chanyeol…" he swallows, feeling a little nauseous, "Where's your ring?" 

Chanyeol doesn’t even spare a glance down at his own hand, letting it fall away from Kyungsoo’s arm slowly. Kyungsoo sees the way his Adam’s apple bobs with his thick swallow, loud in the heavy silence of the apartment; as though he’s bracing himself.

"I don’t need it anymore," Chanyeol says simply, and there's this look in his eyes but Kyungsoo can’t read them, too busy making sure his heart doesn’t fall right out of his chest.

Kyungsoo tries to speak again but his voice finally fails him after the first syllable, unaware that he's thumbing at his finger right in the spot where his ring should be as he blinks furiously, keeping his expression composed. 

"You don’t need yours either," Chanyeol continues and his voice is unusually low, quiet in a way that he only ever gets when he’s anxious.

Kyungsoo stays quiet, almost numb until Chanyeol suddenly drops down on one knee and his head spins trying to register what’s even happening. 

"I got us new ones instead," Chanyeol's voice is almost down to a whisper as he pulls out a little box from his jacket pocket and flips it open. There's a pair of silver rings, wedding rings, tied together with a tiny ribbon, exactly the same way Chanyeol had presented the first pair to Kyungsoo all those years ago, claiming that it was symbolic for tying them together forever. 

He sees it now; _of course_ there it is, even after all these years Kyungsoo sees it right there in his eyes, the same fear, magnified even. He can’t remember Chanyeol ever looking more unsure of himself than he does right now but simultaneously determined. There’s anxiety written in every line of his body, that dark shadow of self-deprecation that he never quite got rid of, wondering how he could possibly be worth Kyungsoo’s attention even after Kyungsoo tells him time and time again that Chanyeol is the best thing that has and will ever happen to him. He rarely sees this side of him anymore, it’s been over 10 years after all, but then again Chanyeol always did agonize over the things that matter the most and it takes Kyungsoo’s breath away. 

Chanyeol ploughs on, taking Kyungsoo's stricken silence as his cue to go on, arms a little shaky as he holds up the little box.

"If you'll have them. If you'll have me," Chanyeol says, eyes lowered for a moment before they lock with Kyungsoo's with sudden resolve. "I've loved you since the moment I met you and there's no one in this lifetime or the next that I would rather be tied to for the rest of my days...Do Kyungsoo... will you marry me?" his voice quavers towards the end, and he looks so terribly nervous and anxious that Kyungsoo just chokes out a stifled sob of relief before falling to his knees and throwing his arms around Chanyeol's neck. 

"Yes," he breathes into his skin, "Yes, yes, always yes."

He can feel Chanyeol shaking in his hold or maybe he's the one shaking; maybe it's both of them, he can’t really tell, but it doesn’t even matter. All that matters is that Chanyeol is barking out a laugh and hugs him back, holding on to him like he can’t believe he's real.   
Kyungsoo pulls back to press a long kiss onto Chanyeol's lips, feeling warm and safe, before pulling away to punch him _hard_ on the shoulder. 

Chanyeol yells and rubs at his shoulder indignantly.

"Asshole, _you_ took my ring, didn’t you?" Kyungsoo quirks an eyebrow, glaring at him.

Chanyeol looks sheepish, mumbling something along the lines of 'thought it'd be romantic'. 

“I thought you were leaving me or something with the way you were acting, _god_!”

“I’m sorry, I was _nervous_!”

“Idiot!” Kyungsoo presses the word onto his lips, whispering it over and over again as he presses their lips together each time, “My idiot.”

He punches Chanyeol on the shoulder again, for good measure, and relishes in Chanyeol's whine before drawing his fiancé, _fiancé_ , back in for a longer kiss, smiling into it when Chanyeol's hands come up to run his thumbs softly along Kyungsoo's cheeks. He slides his tongue along the seam of Chanyeol’s lips, licking into his mouth when they part eagerly and the heat of his mouth is dizzying. Chanyeol bites down on Kyungsoo’s bottom lip, before taking it in between his own, sucking on it gently to soothe it. He flicks his tongue into Kyungsoo’s mouth again, taking his breath away till his lungs burn and Kyungsoo barely registers the arm snaking around his waist crushing him tighter against Chanyeol’s chest. All he can process is the feeling of Chanyeol’s tongue against his own and the sound of his own thundering heartbeat pounding in his head.

Chanyeol finally pulls away with a gasp, lips slick and swollen and his eyes at half mast, dazed. He looks beautiful and Kyungsoo thinks he’s never seen him look more radiant. Both of them are panting, chests heaving against each other where they’re pressed together and Chanyeol leans in again, pecking him twice more on the lips before peppering his whole face with kisses until they're both giggling helplessly like a couple of teenagers. Kyungsoo glances down at the new ring on his finger and grins happily, tightening his arms around Chanyeol and burying his face in his neck.


End file.
